Sunday, June 16, 2013

A Letter to My Class of Readers

Dear Class, I'd like to thank you all for a wonderful year together. I can't believe it is the end of the school year and you will soon be 5th graders. When looking back on this year, I will remember many things. One thing I will remember is our read alouds together.

Remember how nervous we all felt every time "the Nova" was parked in front of Ferris Boyd's house? Or how Delly stopped at nothing to help her friend when Ferris Boyd was missing in True...Sort of?

remember your anger when "the hook" was used on Stella and your happiness when Ivan finally went to the zoo. We also watched Ivan win the Newbery Award together. Your cheers when Ivan was announced was one of my favorite moments (even though some of you hoped Wonder would win).

Speaking of Wonder, reading this book as a whole 4th and 5th grade was one of my highlights of this year. As we read, I noticed more and more copies of the book popping up around the room with all of you huddled around them as we read. Oh how we all grew to love Auggie and his true friends who stood up for him. We cried when Daisy died and celebrated as Auggie was recognized for his inspiration and courage. These books knit us together and the characters became members of our class. We celebrated books and reading whenever we could. I had so much fun at our Diary of A Wimpy Kid book release party. We even got to review the new book on The Nerdy Book Club!I also remember some of you groaning in disbelief when I asked you to read 40 books this year. There was actual fear in some of your eyes as you tried to imagine yourselves reading so many books. Slowly, you built your reading stamina and were groaning when reading time was over. It made me smile every time I heard you recommend books to each other or talk about a great part of the book you were reading. Every time I brought new books into the classroom it was like a feeding frenzy. I watched each of you find your favorites. Whether it was: the Amulet series, Origami Yoda books, Out of My Mind, Drama, Dork Diaries, Capture the Flag, Wonder, RULES, A Dog Called Homeless, One for The Murphys or another favorite, you all found books that you liked best. Pretty soon you stopped asking me for recommendations and started asking each other. My wish for you is that you continue to be readers. Reading is not something you do just for school, but a lifelong activity. I truly feel that reading makes life better. I wish you the best of luck next year and in years to come. If you ever need a book recommendation, you know where to find me.

Love, love, love this Gigi! You've planted and cultivated the seeds of life long reading for your students....what an amazing gift!So proud to have you as a fellow colleague....and honored to call you friend!